FOODSERVICE MONTHLY'S Sauce on the Side

Believe It ... Gaylord National Opens in April

Have you heard? Just eight miles south of the nation’s capital, the largest convention resort on the Eastern Seaboard, the Gaylord National will open in April with 2,000 guest rooms; more than 470,000 square feet of convention, meeting and exhibit space; seven restaurants and eateries and a Relache Spa. It sits on National Harbor which is a 300-acre waterfront community located in Prince George's County, Md. Gaylord Hotels is owned and operated by Gaylord Entertainment based in Nashville, Tennessee and they operate the Gaylord Opryland, Gaylord Palms in Orlando and Gaylord Texan in Dallas.

Last Friday, I was on a tour conducted by Giorgi Di Lemis (right in the foto), vice president of food and beverage for Gaylord Hotels and Steven Potts (left), the hotel’s director of catering operations. Concept news, management announcements and construction updates are starting to flow through the media channels. Stay tuned and take a look in the FOTO GALLERY at the view from Gaylord looking toward Washington.

A Good Night's Sleep at the Middleburg Country Inn

On the wrong side of Rt. 50 in Middleburg, Va. (only when you live off Rt. 50 in Md. on the way to Annapolis) on a Wednesday night was made a whole lot more comfortable when a good friend recommended that we should stay at Jo-Ann and Kevin Hazard's Middleburg Country Inn. Built in 1820 as the rectory for the Episcopal Church, the Inn has eight guest rooms with private baths (our room had a Jacuzzi).

We had made what turned out to be a delightful, restful decision. Jo-Ann checked us in ... my wife grabbed a warm chocolate chip cookie and we both had complimentary glasses of wine in our hands by the time she took us to our room. When you go, ask for Room 6 for the best sleeping bed in the world. When we returned from the reception at 9, there were more cookies waiting (yes warm!). Just so you know, Middleburg is asleep by 9 ... fast asleep.

Jo-Ann had breakfast ready by 8 a.m. ... and greeted everyone by their first name. She did it so effortlessly that you would swear she had met us all long before check-in the day before. Jo-Ann does the cooking – Marge Bencivenga helps out and serves. The Hazards are finishing their 3rd summer … Marge has worked at the Inn since 1992. Jo-Ann popped right out of the kitchen to check on my scrambled eggs after I had taken a couple of bites … I had ordered them soft. They were perfect.

In the foto, Jo-Ann is on the left. Check out the FOTO GALLERY for a picture of the Inn.